1 Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils;
1 Tim 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a
hot iron;
1 Tim 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats*, which
God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth.

As should be obvious, this passage is a warning to the church near the end
of time. It gives quite distinct characteristics of apostasy to look for, that
will distinguish corrupted Christianity. Just who is it talking about? Let me
present some evidence-

GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS

Deu 18:9 (KJV) When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God
giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those
nations.
Deu 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or
his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Deu 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard,
or a necromancer.
Deu 18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and
because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from
before thee.
Deu 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Deu 18:14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto
observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God
hath not suffered thee so to do.

Lev 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits,
and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face
against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

NECROMANCY, is defined in Holman's Bible Dictionary as "Conjuring the
spirits of the dead to predict or influence future events." So a
necromancer, as found in verse 11, is one who consults with the dead, and this
practice is strongly condemned by God. Scripture is quite silent about Mary's
later life, and most Catholic's will admit they are unsure whether or not she
died before her alleged assumption into heaven, due to the lack of any
scriptural evidence. However, on page 273 of Karl Keating's Catholicism
and Fundamentalism, published in 1988 by Ignatius Press, he states that:

... Catholic commentators, not to mention the Popes, have agreed that
Mary died; that belief has long been expressed through the liturgy. (The
Church has never formally defined whether she died or not, and the integrity
of the doctrine of the Assumption would not be impaired if she did not die,
but the almost universal consensus is that she did in fact die.)

Yet, around the world, in direct violation of scripture, Catholics almost
daily consult apparitions of Mary, who has actually been quite dead for nearly
2000 years.
To know this truth, (that Mary is dead) it is important to understand What Really
Happens When You Die.

Here is the New International Version of the same passages:

Deu 18:9 (NIV) When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you,
do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
Deu 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter
in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages
in witchcraft,
Deu 18:11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults
the dead.
Deu 18:12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and
because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those
nations before you.
Deu 18:13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
Deu 18:14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice
sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted
you to do so.

Lev 20:6 I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and
spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off
from his people.

Now note Catholic teaching on apparitions of Mary:

From Catholic Truth for Youth, A Catechism on the Doctrines of Catholic
Faith as Made Known by the Gospels, by the Magisterium, and reaffirmed at
Fatima in Our Own Time, by Father Robert J. Fox, copyright 1977, published by
the Ave Maria Institute, Washington, NJ 07882, bearing the NIHIL OBSTAT and
IMPRIMATUR of the Catholic Church:

Page 55, Lesson 6-

On May 13, 1917, the Mother of God appeared to three children at Fatima.
This was the first in a series of six apparitions, each of which was
preceded by a flash of light which served to alert the children of her
coming.

In addition to Fatima (Portugal), other famous apparitions of Mary are
claimed to have occurred at Lourdes (France), Guadalupe (Mexico), and
Medjugorje (Yugoslavia). The reported sightings of Mary have been on the rise
in recent years, numbering in what must be the hundreds of incidents. Some
Catholic bulletin boards are full of the messages, reputed to be from Mary,
given at these sightings. Catholics flock to these sites by the thousands to
witness them, and perhaps be healed by Mary's blessing.

Many of these alleged Marian apparitions also speak prophetically of future
events or chastisements that will occur if Catholics do not heed the warnings
given. This is necromancy, attempting to consult the dead about the future,
which is clearly forbidden by scripture. I do not think all these apparitions
are hoaxes, and I know that it is not Mary. That leaves Satan, or one of his
demons, as the only explanation for these apparitions, and Catholics very
clearly are giving heed to these seducing spirits. And then on top of this,
there are all the bleeding statues, stigmata, weeping icons, and on, and on.

These apparitions are apparently going to increase, and become even more
spectacular and will deceive many. I believe it is possible that Satan will
appear as Mary in a grand illusion, prior to his impersonation of the second
coming of Christ. Everyone will be able to see it, not just a few devout
Catholics at Fatima. It would be a very powerful deception if you don't know
the truth (that Mary is dead).

Can anyone doubt that 1 Tim 4:1 specifically identifies Catholicism?

DOCTRINES OF DEVILS

From Catholic Truth for Youth, page 67-

In front of the palm of Our Lady's right hand was a heart encircled with
thorns which pierced it. We understand that this was the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, and that she wanted reparation.

Page 86- Mary had only ONE Child and that Child was Jesus. Thus, she was
and remains the ever-virgin Mother of Our Lord and Savior. After her Divine
Son, Mary enjoys the highest place in the Church because she did God's will
perfectly and never committed the slightest sin. She was even exempt from
original sin, which all the other children of Adam inherit. When she died,
Mary's body and soul were taken to heaven. (This is what is meant by the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.) From her beautiful throne, the
Mother of God continues to love and pray for all her children still living
on earth.

Page 89- When Pope Paul VI announced that a Golden Rose would be sent to
the Sanctuary at Fatima, he also stated that he intended to entrust the
entire human race to the care of the Mother of God.

From the booklet Questions and Answers about Mary, by Anthony M. Buono,
published by Liguori Publications, copyright 1993, and bearing the IMPRIMI
POTEST, and IMPRIMATUR of the Roman Catholic Church, page 9-

6. How is Mary our intercessor?

Mary is our intercessor because in heaven she continues to intercede with
her Son, Jesus, for us in the world.

She is our intercessor because of the following reasons: (1) As worthy
Mother of God and full of grace, she occupies a middle position between God
and his creatures. (2) Together with Christ and under him, she cooperated in
the reconciliation of God and mankind while she was still on earth. (3) Now
from heaven she distributes the graces that God bestows on his children.

Of course, this intercession is always secondary and subject to Christ's
primary and self-sufficient intercessory role. All favors granted by God to
his rational creatures are granted in virtue of and because of Mary's
intercession. It is not necessary that we explicitly implore her
intercessions in our prayers. But whether we mention her or not, it is
through her that we receive whatever we receive.

Note the following verses-

Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised
from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which
is become the head of the corner.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus;

From the booklet Questions and Answers about Mary, Page 15-

11. Why does the Church render liturgical devotion to Mary?

The Church renders liturgical devotion to Mary because Mary is joined by
an inseparable bond to the saving work of her Son, which is made present in
the liturgy.

The liturgy make present Christ's paschal mystery (his life, death, and
resurrection), enabling us to render fitting worship to God and to obtain
the graces of Christ gained for all human beings. It is only right to show
liturgical devotion to Mary, since she is joined inescapably to the saving
work being represented.

Though there are many other false doctrines taught by the Catholic Church,
I have focused only on the Catholic doctrines regarding Mary, because the
Bible speaks plainly about the the state of the dead, and says nothing about
Mary being taken to heaven.

Mary remains in the grave, quite dead, hearing nothing, interceding for no
one. Catholic teaching on this matter is quite foreign to scripture, and rests
on nothing but Catholic Tradition. It is the most prevalent, and most
dangerous form of idolatry and spiritualism to infiltrate the Church. It is
plainly AntiChrist.

FORBIDDING TO MARRY

The following canons are quoted from the CODEX IURIS CANONICI, the current
Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, copyright 1983, by Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City-

Can. 277 - § 1. Cleric are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual
continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and therefore are obliged
to observe celibacy, which is a special gift of God, by which sacred
ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and can
more freely dedicate themselves to the service of God and mankind.

Can 1037 - An unmarried candidate for the permanent diaconate and a
candidate for the presbyterate is not to be admitted to the order of
diaconate unless in a prescribed rite he has assumed publicly before God and
the Church the obligation of celibacy or professed perpetual vows in a
religious institute.

Can 1087 - Persons who are in holy orders invalidly attempt marriage.

Can 1088 - Persons who are bound by a public perpetual vow of chastity in
a religious institute invalidly attempt marriage.

The word translated meats in 1 Tim 4:3 actually means foods in a generic
sense, not just animal flesh, so this passage speaks in the broadest sense of
commanding fasting.

Can. 1249 - All members of the Christian faithful in their own way are
bound to do penance in virtue of divine law; in order that all may be joined
in a common observance of penance, penitential days are prescribed in which
the Christian faithful in a special way pray, exercise works of piety and
charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their responsibilities more
faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence according to the
norm of the following canons.

Can. 1250 - All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are
penitential days and times throughout the universal Church.

Can 1251 - Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the
prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays
throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to
be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of
Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Can 1252 - All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound
by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound by the law of fast up to the
beginning of their sixtieth year. Nevertheless, pastors and parents are to
see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence
are educated in an authentic sense of penance.

Here you will find listed the Precepts of the
Catholic Churchwhich are considered obligatory laws, in the new
Vatican's Catechism, paragraphs 2041-2043. The fifth precept deals with
abstinence from meat and fasting.

CONCLUSION

I know of no other Christian church to which these characteristics can be
applied with such ease, other than the Roman Catholic Church. I would
therefore state that it is the subject of Paul's warning in 1 Timothy chapter
4. To those who think me too critical, or devisive, or hurtful, then please
read verse 6-

1 Tim 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou
shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith
and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.